A new profile on Rami Malek's James Bond villain Safin reveals the No Time To Die big bad is a former SPECTRE assassin, connecting him to Bond's past. Malek plays the mysterious villain, whose face is covered in scars, in the latest Bond film. Directed by Cary Fukunaga, No Time To Die will be Craig's final outing as 007, having taken over from Pierce Brosnan for 2006's Casino Royale. No Time To Die is Craig's fifth appearance as Bond, having also starred in Quantum of Solace, Skyfall and Spectre.
The 25th official Bond film, No Time To Die was supposed to be released in April, but was delayed to November due to the coronavirus pandemic. That date was then scrapped due to the continuing effects of the pandemic, and the film will now only debut in theaters in April 2021, a full year after it was initially scheduled to release. There was even a rumored plan for the film to release straight to streaming, but that was denied by the studio, despite reports that MGM was asking for $600 million from the likes of Netflix for the streaming rights.
Despite the delays, anticipation for No Time To Die remains high. British magazine GQ recently conducted a video interview with Malek around the film, and contained alongside his quotes was a new piece of information about his character, Safin. The publication mentions that Safin is a former SPECTRE assassin and terrorist. This is the first time that Safin's connection to the shadowy organization has been confirmed. You can read the relevant extract below:
Here's what we know so far about Safin: he's a former Spectre assassin and a powerful figure in the world of terrorism.
The information confirms what the trailers had been hinting at - that Safin has a connection to Bond's past and has a personal motive for triumphing over him. It also explains why Christoph Waltz, who played Blofeld in the much-maligned Spectre, reappears in No Time To Die. Blofeld clearly knows about Safin from his time with SPECTRE, and one of the twists in the plot may be that Blofeld is pulling the strings from prison. The revelation also ties together all five of Craig's Bond films, and promises that this final effort might reveal some shocking revelations about this iteration of the character.
It also potentially ties in to the theory that Safin is secretly an updated version of Dr. No, echoing the central conceit at the heart of Spectre, which hid Blofeld's true identity until the climactic showdown between him and Bond. Safin's background in SPECTRE would certainly make him a prime candidate to develop into a supervillian, and would raise the stakes for Bond in an era-ending movie. All will, hopefully, be revealed when No Time To Die debuts in April 2021.
Source: GQ
